With a unique twist on a widow heiress romance, this story hits the reader in all the rights spots. The heroine is a smart woman, but holding on to a secret that she could be executed for. The hero is the nephew of a duke who has made virtual strangers designated heirs in his will. The hero is investigating one of these strangers. The characters are believable and very likeable. There is danger amidst mystery and action. The heroine had survived an abusive marriage and the hero has survived the war.
This story is very well written with a complex, yet understandable plot line. There were few grammar or spelling errors that I could see and it made reading so much smoother. This may be one of a series of stories, but it reads like a stand alone book. I had such a good feeling after reading this book. It kept my attention and I liked the fact that this was not a story about one party after another. I would recommend this book. 5 stars

As always, Ms. Hunter delivers a sweet and sexy romance with just the right amount of tension and mystery. A truly decadent guilty pleasure that will leave you craving more! I am not one to notice any historic inaccuracies so I cannot speak to that, but I do know that I didn't want to put this book down because it contained all the elements I love in a steamy historical romance. An absolutely fun and feisty plot that will bring you back in time without all the gross and gory parts you want to forget about - all while you fall in love with the characters themself. I can't wait to read more in the series.

Heiress for hire is another lovely book by Madeline Hunter. The dialogue is beautiful, the characters are interesting and normal people. It seems to follow a pretty common formula for her books, while solving a family mystery, 3 men (cousins this time) find interesting and intrepid women. The formula works for me because I have read them and loved all of them.

Chase’s uncle, a wealthy, eccentric duke, has died under mysterious circumstances. More mysterious is his will; he has left three large legacies to three unknown women. Chase is asked by his cousin, the new duke, and the Home Office to find the three women and to investigate his uncle’s death. Minerva is living a quite life with her two friends/servants thinking of starting an inquiry (detective) agency when she learns of her inheritance from a stranger (Chase) who has broken into her house.

This was a page turner not so much because of the mysterious death but because of the development of the romance between the two main characters. The supporting characters (including the dead uncle) were well done, the introduction to the following two stories was obvious but worked well, but best of all were the two main characters: considerate, smart, heroic. .

This book was fantastic! Heiress for Hire is part romance and part mystery. Chase's uncle, a duke, comes to an untimely death and the will surprisingly leaves most of the inheritance to three strangers. Minerva is one of those strangers. In his investigation into who Minerva is and what her relationship with his uncle had been, Chase learns that not only does she have secrets in her past but she also decides to investigate the duke's death as she had never met or heard from him in the past. Both believe that the duke may have been potentially murdered. Many suspects include much of Chase's family with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles.

This book is fun. The characters are smart and well-written. Minerva is a strong and independent woman...so different from so many others from that time, whether by choice or not. Chase is just so likable. The mystery of "whodunnit" was maybe my favorite part and had me guessing all the way to the end. Madeline Hunter has written a fantastic novel with an ending that invites more to the story. I very much look forward to revisiting this family and characters again in future books from this series. I give this book a solid five stars and would recommend to anyone who loves historical romance or mysteries.

Chase is hesitant in the beginning to trust Minerva to help him make inquiries into his uncle's death. He soon sees that she can be an asset. Together they make great partners, in more than one way if you ask me. I really enjoyed reading, Heiress for Hire. I can't wait until the second book in the series comes out.

What a good mystery romance! Loved the premise of this unusual love story by Madeline Hunter! Minerva Hipplewhite, widow of a brute of a man, along with her servant, friend Bess, and Bess's son Jeremy; embark on a enquiry business. Chase Radnor, handsome, grandson of a Duke, former Army investigator, now a private investigator probes into the present Duke's death, his Uncle to be precise. Good characters, very well written, makes for a truly great read!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

I was extremely excited to read this book. As a lover of all things Madeline Hunter I couldn't wait to get started on this one. I was not disappointed! I really liked the interplay between the heroine and hero. How their stories evolved and how they slowly relayed their history to each other. Their intimacy grew. It wasn't sudden and sordid which made it all the more precious. I realized as I was reading this story how much the premise reminded me of the March/Lake series I have read and recently re-read by Amanda Quick. Ms. Hunter does it in her own style and they are both equally wonderful to read. I am very excited for the next installment to come along. May can't get here soon enough!!

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book and I was not disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an e-galley of this novel.

I suppose this book should be classified as a cliffhanger but I'm not so concerned about that as I might normally be since I picked up the book to read knowing it was a trilogy all wrapped around a basic premise. A Duke has died and his will reveals that he has left a veritable fortune to three women his family don't know anything about. Naturally the relatives had been counting on any fortunes to be coming their way so they are upset with the terms of the will. When the Home Office gives one of the family members the charge of gathering evidence to show whether the death was an accident or something else the private lives of the family members begin to be revealed.

In this first book in the series the plot revolves around Miss Minerva Hepplewhite who has begun Hepplewhite's Office of Discreet Inquiries to earn a living. Minerva has quite an interesting backstory which is uncovered pretty quickly by Chase Radnor who has been charged by the Home Office with uncovering the circumstances of the death of the Duke. Miss Hepplewhite might be one of the missing women who have been left a large legacy so Chase is investigating her past. Can these two strong willed people join forces to solve the investigation? Hmm, I wonder.

This book is liberally peppered with people who are inquiry agents; Minerva, Chase and one other. I liked the writing style of Madeline Hunter and the gathering of evidence was handled well so that portion of the novel was satisfactory for me also. As expected Minerva and Chase soon begin to establish a romantic relationship which felt pretty rushed to me but what's an author supposed to do with only a certain number of pages to accomplish all that needs to happen. Vague hints were given about who the next recipient of a legacy might be but we will have to wait to see how that portion of the story plays out.

I loved this story of two people (Minerva and Chase) with trust issues who meet to accomplish a common goal of finding out who killed someone. I look forward to reading about the other heiresses in the next books in this series. I received an ARC from Kensington Books and NetGalley for my honest review.

A clever and fast-paced historical romance with tons of mystery and intrigue! Aspiring detectress Minerva Hepplewhite is astounded when she inherits a large sum from a duke-even more so since she never met the man! While she investigates his family, his nephew Chase, an investigator, is looking into the mysterious woman in his uncle's will...and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his uncle's death. When their paths collide, sparks fly and the mystery deepens.

This book was a lovely surprise. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
Minerva and Chase were great characters. Their relationship was paced perfectly and they had really good, strong personalities, without being overbearing or explosive. Their romance was realistic and sweet. The detective aspects of the plot were great and they really carried the story along. Just a little dash of mystery to make things more riveting. I really liked how there's more to discover in the following books. I'm looking forward to knowing more about the former Duke and his motives.